2023

Brighton and Hove Museums

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The Brighton and Hove Museums is a trading name for the Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust. The Trust runs three museums; Brighton Museum & Art Gallery - which is attached to the Royal Pavilion & Garden, The Booth Museum of Natural History, and Hove Museum of Creativity - attached to Preston Manor & Gardens.

The World Stories Gallery, at the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, displays the World Art Collection. The collection has an extensive number of objects that are relevant to Islamic Culture. Sandra Bauza, Assistant Curator at the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery has compiled some highlight objects from North and West Africa, and Persia; including a Pre 1970 Amulet from Sierra Leone, a Mahdist Banner from 1898 Sudan, and a 19th Century carved Ostrich egg from Iran. See attached PDF for more objects and detailed descriptions and background.

If visitors want to see objects that are not currently on display, this can be arranged with some notice. Contact the team via the Enquiry Form on the website.

The World Stories Gallery was the South East’s flagship museum project for the London 2012 Festival and part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. In this gallery, which was developed in partnership with young people from Brighton & Hove, there was a focus on highlighting seven ‘world stories’ from around the globe. Included in the initial temporary exhibition was the display, ‘My Journey in Islam: From Brighton to Makkah’, where a local group of young Muslims used personal items and film to examine the Five Pillars of Islam, and the way their faith is incorporated into their everyday lives. Also, in the initial display was: ‘Iranian Identity through Words and Art’, where young Iranians worked with museum curators to choose modern artworks, carved wooden pieces and decorative tiles to illustrate the importance of calligraphy in Iranian art and culture. Items on display include clothing, sculpture, artworks and film.

The Indian hospital gallery, located on the first floor of the Royal Pavilion, illustrates the fascinating and challenging period of the Royal Pavilion being transformed into a hospital for the treatment of Indian soldiers wounded while fighting on the Western Front in 1914. On display are photographs, paintings, film footage and contemporary accounts, including quotes from letters written by some of the injured soldiers. There is a free audio guide available for visitors to the Indian hospital, accessed through your smartphone. It is recommended that you bring headphones as this will ensure the best sound quality and will cause less distraction to other visitors.

There are several notable sites of physical history connected to Brightons relationship to India, these are listed below:

If you enter the Royal Pavilion Garden from the south you will see the Indian Gate. This was unveiled by the Maharajah of Patiala in October 1921 and is ‘dedicated to the use of the inhabitants of Brighton’.
Further afield, Brighton General Hospital in Elm Grove was the site of the largest Indian hospital. A former workhouse, it was transformed into a hospital for troops with lighter injuries. It was previously named Kitchener General Indian Hospital.
The Chattri memorial on the Downs near Patcham marks the spot where 53 Hindus and Sikhs were cremated. Built in white marble and inspired by Indian architecture, the Chattri stands in remembrance of all the Indian soldiers who died in Brighton. This includes 19 Muslims who were buried in Woking near the Shah Jehan mosque.
The Jaipur Gate, in the grounds of Hove Museum, was originally commissioned in 1886 for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition held in South Kensington.

Scholarships and Prizes

The Change Studentship, is an award for an African diaspora, Asian diaspora or ethnically diverse applicant for the Curating Collections and Heritage MA course at the University of Brighton. The award covers the postgraduate course fees and travel expenses to access a mentoring programme organised by the university. Additionally, the award includes a £3,000 personal bursary to support study as the recipient wishes, for example, caring costs or travel costs.The award is generously funded by the James Henry Green Charitable Trust via the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust.

The award has been developed to help promote diversity in museums, heritage and arts curation. Recent research has shown that only 10% of managerial positions in museums are held by African diaspora, Asian diaspora and ethnically diverse people. The studentship is open to those already working in the museums and heritage sector, as well as to new entrants, and applicants can study full-time or part-time.

Relevant Projects

The Culture Change, Decolonising Brighton & Hoves Museums Project, is a 3 year project where the trust seeks to assess the impact of Empire on their work and collections.